This invention, in general, relates to an endoscope for viewing inaccessible cavity regions of a body. More particularly, this invention relates to a portable endoscope for diverse medical disciplines.
Typically, a medical specialty, for example, otolaryngology, urology, anesthesia, bronchoscopy, gastroenterology, hysteroscopy, etc. requires a unique endoscope to perform procedures in that medical specialty. This requires a medical establishment providing medical services to purchase, stock, and maintain endoscopes and parts of the endoscope for the medical specialties for which services are provided. Procurement and maintenance of such endoscopes increases the overhead cost of the medical establishment and the cost of such medical procedures. Partly because endoscope and endoscope parts used in different medical procedures are not interchangeable, dedicated endoscopes for each discipline are required to be inventoried. If different endoscopes are not maintained in an inventory at the medical establishment, obtaining them in a timely fashion for the performance of a procedure is also an issue.
Typically, endoscopes are characterized by different structural configurations that enable an operator of an endoscope to control angular movements of a flexible distal end of the endoscope. A typical endoscope comprises a single integrated functional unit with no detachable components. Endoscopes are generally structurally configured with external light cords or cables, connected to an external light source, a video processing source, or both. The cords and the cables may restrict the use of the endoscope at a desired location in the body, or limit the flexibility, movement, or maneuverability of the endoscopes for performing a medical procedure.
Typically, commercial endoscopes utilizing a portable battery pack, fiber optic cables, and cords have no or minimal detachable components. Over time and usage, components in the endoscopes, for example, the fiber optic cables, electrical components, components for controlling movements of the flexible distal end, etc. may wear, break, or experience a failure or become dysfunctional due to faulty use, or accidental breakage. When such a failure occurs, such endoscopes without detachable components may be difficult to repair and reuse and therefore require an entire replacement endoscope to be maintained in inventory.
When the components of an endoscope experience a failure during a medical procedure, the medical procedure generally requires the withdrawal of the endoscope inserted into the body of a patient. The medical practitioner may then need to procure a new endoscope and restart the medical procedure on the patient. The time delay involved in procuring the new endoscope and restarting the medical procedure may extend the time necessary to complete the medical procedure and cause medical complications and patient discomfort, for example, during reinsertion of the endoscope, etc. The time lag may also cause additional delays in prescheduled procedures. Also, in case of failure of an endoscope during a medical procedure, the endoscope may not be provided with a built-in or another alternative to continue or resume the procedure immediately. Hence the endoscopes may be inoperable in an event of failure during a medical procedure.
Conventional endoscopes of different sizes, lengths, and ranges of deflection or steering are used depending on the procedure to be performed, the orifice used to gain access, and the specific body cavity to be reached. Steering is achieved by pulling on one of multiple control lines that are embedded within the insertion shaft bundle. Pulling on the left control line causes the distal tip to deflect to the left, pulling on the right causes deflection to the right, on the top upward, and so forth. The amount of control line pull required to achieve a desired amount of distal tip deflection is directly proportional to the diameter of the insertion shaft bundle and the amount of deflection sought. In other words, the larger the endoscope, the greater pull required, plus the greater the deflection, the longer the required pull. For a typical endoscope, this pull requirement may, for example, deviate by ⅛ inches from neutral or smaller for the smallest endoscopes with limited steering, for example, from 90 degrees, to a deviation of ⅝ inches from neutral or larger, for example, 270 degrees for the largest endoscopes.
To steer an endoscope, a simple thumb lever is typically used to translate the sweep of the operator's thumb, moving from a neutral position to flexion and extension, into pull upon the appropriate control line. For an ordinary endoscope with a typical handgrip posture, this lever swing may be limited to 45 degrees to 50 degrees of thumb lever angulation. This coincides with the reach of an operator's thumb which is limited by length and the distance covered from full flexion to full extension.
In typical endoscopes where the flexible insertion shaft is integral and not detachable from the hand control, fixed internal gearing or levers may translate the thumb lever swing into a predetermined range of pull action that corresponds with the requirements and range of the integral flexible insertion shaft so that the entire swing of the thumb controls the entire range of steering.
Hence, there is a need for a portable endoscope comprising detachable components to eliminate dependency on external cords, cables, and related accessories required to perform the medical procedures. There is also a need for a portable endoscope with detachable components that is configurable for use in diverse medical specialties and disciplines and associated medical procedures. Furthermore, there is a need for an endoscope with internal back-up systems and redundancies to allow immediate remedy and recovery from component failures or break downs.